I have a rule for holidays. We don't hop. Hopping takes the fun out of the holidays for me. And by hopping I mean: rushing to eat and open presents with one set of family so that you can rush to another family and rush to eat and open presents there and so on. The best part of Christmas for me is the lounging around, playing games, and relaxation that comes after all the food is eaten, the dishes are done, the gifts are unwrapped.
Luckily our families are good about scheduling things. We started out Christmas morning at home, seeing what Santa brought and opening our gifts for/from each other. Then we got all dressed up and headed out to the Baker's. We opened our gifts within the immediate family right away and around noon the extended family (aunts, uncles, grandparents) came for lunch and gifts and games. We hung out at Ma and Dad's all evening, until Heidi tired from doing circles around the kitchen in her Christmas PJs and somebody's fuzzy pink socks. Then we headed home to refresh the memory of what Santa had brought and dream of the next Christmas party.
Saturday we held Christmas at our house for my Mom and Bill and all of my brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews. It's a huge clan and such a fun group. We made a traditional dinner and sat on the longest table you've ever seen to eat it. Then it was gifts for the kids and games for the adults. More games were played (though we never got the payout from Who Wants to be a Millionnaire) and someone may or may not have gone in the ditch on the way home.
Finally on Sunday we had our last Christmas, with Grams and the Aunts and Uncles on Mom's side. It's always my favorite food because we shy away from tradition. This year we decided to do appetizers and we had enough food for 10 families. After dinner and dishes, the kids opened gifts, we caught the end of the Packer game, and lounged around in various rooms. Some of us may have even caught a few zzzz's.
Another successfully holiday season. No hopping allowed.
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